ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)— New York State is notifying local departments of social services, that the start of applications for the Home Energy Assistance program, or HEAP, is being delayed.
HEAP, which is a federally funded program, provides more than $287 million dollars to help New Yorkers who struggle to pay for heat and fuel delivery during the winter.
According to New York State, more than 1.5 million households were a part of the program last year. On average, the maximum benefit New Yorkers received last season was $996. But this winter could be different.
Governor Hochul’s Office stated, “Without a federal budget in place, or a continuing resolution to keep the government open, there is no federal funding available to open the HEAP program for the coming winter season. “
Stephen Acquario, Executive Director of the New York State Association of Counties, spoke about applications for the program.
“Right now, these applications are starting to come in early to mid-November, but we’re not sure we will be able to process these applications the longer the government is shutdown,” said Acquario.
Aquario recently met with members of Governor Hochul’s Office as well as the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance to discuss the shutdown and the financial impact it could have on HEAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and WIC— the program for Women, Infants, and Children.
“The amount of money that we are talking about here is staggering,” explained Acquario. “It could be as high as $500 million dollars for the Women, Infants, and Children’s program. We have $650 Million dollars a month just for the SNAP program and again, another $300 million for the Home Energy Assistance Program.”
The federal government is expected to fund those programs through the end of October. But once November begins, services could be cut until the either, the shutdown end or states pick up the tab while the shutdown continues.
“These types of cuts, or shifts, or realignment of federal policy back to the states are going to be unsustainable for the State of New York, its own budget deficit problems in the out years, or for counties,” said Acquario. “Counties in the State of New York are not in any capacity whatsoever to offset these costs and continue to provide these benefits.”
